Friday, February 26, 2010

I recently saw the new Denzel Washington flick called "The Book Of Eli", also starring Gary Oldman. When I first saw the ads for this film I wasn't sure what it was about but had an impression that it had some type of spiritual connotation to it. After all, Eli is reminiscent of Elijah the Old Testament prophet, so, being a Christian, I was immediately intrigued. After a few more weeks of ads and some t.v. trailers I realized what the movie could be about. I definately figured it had something to do with the bible. Despite this fact, I still did not care to see it. I am not big on Hollywood interpretations of religion and I especially do not like the way Christianity is usually portrayed. I figured this movie would be filled with pieces of truth without any substance. As time progressed and the movie came closer to its debute, endorsements began to multiply along with the advertisements. The Book of Eli was receiving much hype as it were, I think especially since Denzel Washington was starring in it, playing an action role, which has been quite rare for him.

Currently I attend West Angeles Church of God In Christ located here in Los Angeles California, Bishop Charles Blake is the pastor. Admittedly, I attend because my wife, prior to us being married, was already a member, yet, I haven't officially joined myself and don't plan to. I mention this because I found out that Denzel Washington is also a member of the same church and has donated generously to West Angeles over the years. After the movie began to be marketed, during one Sunday service Bishop Blake announced that Mr. Washington was present, he then went on to explain that he was starring in a new movie. Bishop Blake then encouraged his congregation to go see the movie because it is about a man who protects God's word, which is a good thing. At the time, even prior to seeing the movie, I completely disagreed with this assessment of the movie. Most if not all of the attendants the that service applauded, sad.

If you cannot tell by now, I am not a big fan of the Book of Eli and don't believe it is a movie that paints a positive image of Christianity or the bible. I did not plan to see the movie at all, didn't care to. Then one day during my Sunday School class at the same church, one of the other members mentioned that they had seen the movie and honestly remarked that they did not understand a bit of it. I wasn't surprised. He and his wife mentioned certain elements of the movie and also commented that there were some pretty graphic fighting scenes. I wasn't surprised at that either. Having heard this commentary from my classmate I decided to go see the movie for the sake of knowing what I was talking about when I revealed the reality of the film.

I say the "reality of the film" because what many Christians do not realize is that most if not all of the science fiction and action movies released through mainstream Hollywood are filled with occult imagery and themes. These movies have what is known to the initiated as esoteric interpretations and exoteric meanings. The esoteric is the hidden meanings and messages through the use of symbols, phrases, and graphic imagery or special effects. Many times when we hear one type of phrase or terminology in a film it has a double meaning to it. The exoteric involves the revealed knowledge that the general public is aware of. It is what you actually see on the surface and are able to understand without interpretation. This type of thinking or belief system, that symbols, words, actions, etc. have double meanings is called Gnosticism. The book of Eli is filled with Gnostic interpretations of the world, the bible, and specifically Christianity. Unfortunately, most Christians are not aware of this belief system, yet many of them participate in this type of thinking all of the time when they read their bibles.

While at this time I will not go deep into describing and interpreting the Book of Eli, I will say this, it doesn't uphold the integrity of God's word, it is not a Christian friendly film, and it does condemn and even deny Jesus Christ as the Son of the Most High God. This film is a Gnostic film and plays right into the Luciferian doctrine of establishing a new world order to usher in the world teacher after a great cataclysmic event. I encourage you Believers out there to begin to see that Satan has his hand in Hollywood, be mindful of this fact and put on the Whole Armour of God to withstand it.